Taking off from Renato De Castro's "Weaknesses and Gambits in Philippine Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century", does the current administration's battle against insurgency remain as a foreign policy weakness? Articulate.

Weakness and Gambits in Philippine Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century

Renato Cruz De Castro

In November 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made an ambitious foreign policy pronouncement entitled "The Eight Realities of Philippine Foreign Policy."1 The policy statement highlights the government's objectives to contain domestic and international terrorism and address the country's underdevelopment by enhancing its economic competitiveness in the global market. It also contains bold diplomatic gambits such as balancing the major powers (United States, Japan and China) in East Asia against each other to ensure national security. Specifically, it intends to strengthen the US-Philippine alliance, and to enlist Washington's support for the country's internal security agenda. It also expresses reliance on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other multilateral organizations to advance the Philippines' security and economic goals. Significantly, it conveys the need to protect the interests and well being of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and actively utilize the Philippine foreign affairs department and diplomatic corps to explore new export markets abroad and to attract foreign tourists and investments to the country. These diplomatic gambits required material resources and military capabilities, and also entailed the cooperation of the Philippines with other states at the bilateral, regional and global levels. However, the Philippine state's internal weakness has thwarted the country's pursuit of its strategic objectives. The policy goals have unleashed latent tensions and conflicts in the conduct of Philippine foreign relations. These include the government's reinvigorated military/security ties with the US, amidst the vocal and chronic anti-American sentiments in Philippine society; the country's desire to play an active role in regional and global security versus the political exigency to resolve its internal conflicts; and finally, the regime's need to project the state's politico-diplomatic clout in global forums and regional developments vis-a-vis its limited economic and military capabilities.

KEYWORDS: Philippine foreign policy, Philippine-U.S. relations, overseas Filipino workers, foreign policy of weak powers, development diplomacy, Philippine-China relations